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Good Story Books
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| Aesop for Children, the. Unknown. Winter, M. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble, Inc. | Classic tales from Aesop delightfully illustrated. These tales are told, like the Jakata Tales, through animals. So The Mule's message is "Be sure of your pedigree before you boast of it," whilst The Serpent and the Eagle say, "An act of kindness is well re-paid." |
| A Flowering Tree. by Ramanujan, A.K., ed. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. 1997. | This is a collection of oral tales collected over a period of 20 years from servants, aunts, schoolteachers, children, carpenters, tailors and anyone who would tell Ramanujan a story. The tales, originally told in the language of Kannada, are from a rich mythological, devotional and secular literary tradition. |
| A Prayer Book for Children. by Raghaveshananda, Swami. Madras, India: Sri Ramakrishna Math. | A selection of simple chants for children to learn, with explanation and prayers. Includes Devanagri text, phonetic pronunciation with English letters, and translation. |
| A Tale of Four Dervishes. by Amman, Mir. Zakir, Mohammed, trans. New Delhi, India: Penguin Books (P) Ltd. 1994. | Beauty, valor, love, adventure and the supernatural are the ingredients of this classic of early Urdu literature, comprising five main stories. The principal characters are four wandering dervishes - three princes and a rich merchant - who have renounced the world on account of their failure in love. In their journeys they meet characters more unfortunate than themselves who tell stories more fantastical than their own… |
| A Taoist Guide to Practical Living. by Wong, Eva. Lieh-Tzu: Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc. 1995. | This book is a collection of stories and philosophical musings of a sage of the same name who lived around the fourth century BCE. The subjects of Lieh-tzu's teachings range from the origin and purpose of life, the Taoist view of reality, and the nature of enlightenment to questions about training the body and mind, communication and understanding, and the importance of personal freedom. By providing answers to these practical questions, Lieh-tzu builds the foundations that are necessary for the higher levels of Taoist training. |
| A Treasury of African Folklore: The Oral Literature, Traditions, Myths, Legends, Epics, Tales, Recollections, Wisdom, Sayings, and Humor of Africa. by Courlander, Harold. New York: Marlowe and Company. 1996. | A unique collection of lore, recollections, epics, traditions, beliefs and tales from widespread regions of the African continent. It reflects the widely differing cultures and traditions to be found in sub-Saharan Africa, the difference concepts of creation and existence, and the social values that have motivated clans, tribes, and kingdoms in their pursuit of a meaningful life and an understanding of the physical and spiritual attributes of the world around them. |
| A Treasury of Jewish Folklore. by Ausubel, Nathan. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc. 1975. | An impressive volume of stories, traditions, legends, humor, wisdom and folk songs that reflect the long and continuous storytelling tradition of the Jewish people. The major figures of Jewish history are all here, ranging from Maccabees to the heroes and heroines of the Warsaw ghetto. The wisdom of the Jewish people's spiritual leaders, including Hillel, Akiva, Solomon and Spinoza is contained in poignant tales and sayings. |
| Advice to Students. by Jyotirmayayananda, Swami. Miami, FL: Yoga Research Foundation. 1991. | This book reaches out to you with the inspiring wisdom that Sages have handed down over the ages to deserving young people who are destined to become the light of the future. This unique guidance will give you profound insight into the important challenges that you face in today's complex world in order to grow into a happy, successful and fulfilled human being who is a blessing to all of humanity. |
| African Folktales by Abrahams, Roger D. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. 1983 | Nearly 100 stories which reveal the exotic, universal concerns of the African peoples, while vividly evoking their unique, dramatic roots in the song, dance, and ritual performances of the African world. From over 40 tribe-related myths of creation, tales of epic deeds, ghost stories and tales set in both the animal and human realms. |
| Another Way of Laughter: A Collection of Sufi Humor. by Farzan, Massud. New York, NY: E. P. Dutton & Co. 1973. | It would not be possible to capture the spirit of Sufism without Sufi humor. It is this quality of encompassing the serious with the comic, the sublime with the seemingly absurd, that sets Sufism apart from many other religions and philosophies. Here is a collection of over one hundred Sufi tales and teaching-stories, providing a rare glimpse into the world of Sufi humor. One of the distinguishing characteristics of a Sufi living in this world is unobtrusive compassion and a wise practicality that, when it clashes with habitual sentimentality or idealism, often elicits some kind of laughter--the laughter of the inimitable wise-fools and saints-incognito of the Way of the Sufi: another way of laughter. |
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